The air in the neerynd realm now contained frightening thin BioUmbra. The neerynds that roamed the streets of the city now seemed little more than wisps of smoke. This time, as Taryn entered the city in her neerynd form, Remy and Aoki did not disguise themselves with shadows. They strolled into view of the neerynds. Immediately, dozens of heads were turned in their direction.

"You there. Why have brought humans into this world?" asked one neerynd.

"Indeed. They are unwelcome here!" said another.

"We wish to speak to Garlan," Taryn replied, her voice calm and steady.

Seconds later, the neerynds had formed little groups amongst themselves, whispering about the strangers. Then, two neerynds approached Taryn's group. They scanned the trio through narrowed red eyes and one of them said "aren't you the half–bred wench?"

"Indeed," said the other.

Taryn did not reply. Instead, she braced her feet against the ground and held one hand in front of herself. Immediately, the two neerynds were sent flying back by a push of antigravitation. They collapsed onto the ground 40 metres away. Other neerynds scattered as the two landed on the ground in an explosion of dust and dirt. They quickly focused their attention towards Taryn's group, anxious of what was to come.

"I have said it once and I shall say it once more: where is Garlan?" shouted Taryn.

Immediately, two neerynds broke off from the gathered crowd and disappeared into the inner reaches of the city. When they returned five minutes later, they had brought Garlan with them. His dark blue skin was tense and his crimson eyes narrowed upon sighting the trio.

As he approached, Taryn whispered "Aoki, Remy, can you two promise me that, at the first sign of truly significant danger, you'll escape back into the human world with the sword."

"We promise," Remy replied.

"Indeed. We'll trust your decision," said Aoki.

"Thank you," said Taryn.

Garlan was now only 5 metres away from them, glaring at them through narrow crimson slits. He said "why have you returned to our world? Have you finally decided to give me the stone dear niece?"

"This is not my world any longer and you're not my uncle," Taryn replied. "We are here to discuss some business with you."

"Go on."

"If we were to give you the stone, what will you do with it now that the two greatest empires in the human world have united against the neerynds? Will you truly risk another war?"

"War was never my intention. I hoped to avoid needless risks for my people! However, there is no longer any option. The BioUmbra here is trickling down ever more slowly whilst the human world is becoming quite rich with it. Thus, we have to invade the human world and we will use the stone to do so."

"Then I offer the following proposition to you: I will attempt to return BioUmbra to the neerynd realm and close all gateways forever. In return for this attempt, will you agree to never invade the human world ever again?"

"And what if you should fail this attempt to restore what was once right?"

"Then we shall work together to seek out other answers to this question."

"And why should us neerynds work with you filthy humans. You've already slaughtered thousands of us in the war a century ago and just now, you've slaughtered hundreds more!"

"Then why did you allow those neerynds to enter the human world?"

"It was not my choice. They made the choice of their own accord. They were desperate for more BioUmbra to sustain themselves! The rain of BioUmbra that once trickled down from the clouds is slowly drying away whilst more and more BioUmbra is leaking into the human world! The human world is much bigger than the neerynd realm. There's much more space for BioUmbra to distribute itself before the human world becomes saturated."

"What do your last points have to do with our negotiation?"

"I am saying that the nature of BioUmbra distribution and the flow of it between our worlds prevents BioUmbra from ever returning here. Thus, to ensure our survival, we must follow the BioUmbra wherever it goes, even if it means conflict with humans!"

"Then why not allow me to try to reverse this seemingly inevitable fate? Even if I fail, what would that cost you? I'll fail, and we can discuss further options."

"That is unacceptable!"

"Why?"

"Your dear mother tried countless times to right these wrongs with her Shadow Forgeries. To even construct such despicable inventions, she's had to drain unfathomable amounts of BioUmbra, especially for the stone. I could tell by sensing just how much BioUmbra was contained in each of them. The stone was like an ocean of BioUmbra, condensed into a single crystal the size of a thimble. Yet, every single time she's tried to use them to heal the neerynd realm, she has failed. She's failed each and every time without exception! And yet, despite her failures, she continues to try, keeping away from all of the other neerynds the means of saving our realm. We shall no longer accept anymore negotiations of these kinds or any suggestions from her accursed bloodline, including you. Now, you will hand over the stone!"

"Then you must rip out of my cold, dead corpse Garlan! I challenge you to a duel for ownership of the stone!"

The other neerynds all whispered to each other frantically. A duel was one of the most serious of affairs in their realm. There are no draws in a duel. A duel must always be to the death. Garlan however, nodded slowly. He led Taryn to the northern outskirts of the city where there was an enormous wide field awaiting them. The field was to serve as the battlefield between them.

Garlan and Taryn separated at the edge of the field. Both marched away from each other in sync, keeping their eyes on each other. When they were about 50 metres away from each other, they bowed to each other as a sign of respect. Remy and Aoki watched in fear as Taryn stood upright once more, ready to battle the neerynd that had once been her uncle. Memories of Garlan's immense power flooded back into their minds. They worried for Taryn's safety. The neerynds beside them were waiting in anticipation for what was to happen next.

Garlan made the first move. He launched a barrage of shadowy spikes at Taryn. Taryn blocked it with a shield of shadow. However, she quickly leapt away as spikes of shadow emerged from beneath her feet. She narrowly avoided them as they snapped together in the air where she had been less than a tenth of a second ago.

She was suddenly yanked off her feet by the pull of gravitation. Garlan dragged her towards him before releasing his pull on her. Her momentum carried her forward as Garlan summoned more spikes to encase her. Taryn pushed off the ground with antigravitation. The spikes of shadow pursued her into the skies above the neerynd world. She flew up over a hundred metres into the air before slicing apart Garlan's shadows.

The fragments of shadow fell back towards the ground. Taryn scanned the battlefield through narrowed eyes. Garlan had vanished, having used the attack as a distraction before fusing with surrounding shadows. Taryn's head and eyes darted left and right as she looked for any signs of her opponent. She kept pushing against the ground with antigravitation, determined to avoid what she viewed as the most dangerous part of the battlefield. The skies were almost empty, filled only with the solidified pillars of shadow that Garlan had made earlier.

Suddenly, Garlan erupted from solidified shadows. Taryn blocked a strike from his claws whilst lashing out with a kick. They two struggled to gain dominance over the other as they duelled in the air. They pushed and pulled on the ground as they adjusted their altitude. They fell whenever they launched an attack at each other. Garlan would lash out with a slash or a kick. Taryn blocked with her arms whilst summoning shadowy spikes from the ground. Garlan would block some or redirect them back at Taryn.

Taryn would pull on the ground to avoid the spikes as they sailed above her head. She then pushed against the ground to attack Garlan with her claws. He blocked her attack and caught her in a joint lock. Taryn pulled on the ground and the two fell. The ground quickly loomed in front of them, growing larger and larger with each split second that passed. When they were almost at the ground, Taryn twisted in the air to present Garlan with the ground. Garlan released his hold on her and the two separated. They landed on the ground with explosions of dirt.

They then slowly circled each other as they waited for an opening. Remy continued to watch tensely as Taryn circled Garlan. He was amazed at just how powerful Taryn was. Aoki however, was worried. He suspected that Taryn was relying on bits of the stone's power whenever she needed it most. He had heard from her the terrible price of the stone: the cost of the user's life force. He thought please stop using the stone Taryn! Wear him down! Be on the defensive! Make his own power his undoing! Then, when he's exhausted, strike him down!

Aoki continued to watch nervously as the two stopped circling each other. It was Garlan who attacked first. He launched three immense spikes of shadow at Taryn whilst also launched a swarm of shadowy knives from behind. Taryn spun in place and surrounded herself with a cloak of shadow. The spikes and the knives bounced off the cloak. However, the knives and spikes then stopped their motion in midair. They transformed into miniature golems and rushed at Taryn.

Taryn quickly leapt into the air with a push of antigravitation. The golems followed her. She pulled at an angle towards the ground and rushed towards it. The golems followed her. As she was sailing towards the ground, Garlan unleashed another barrage of spikes at her. The spikes flew fast, far too fast for Taryn to dodge. Taryn spun in the direction of the spikes and deflected them at the golems behind her.

The golems were impaled by the spikes and fell from the air, decaying as they did. Garlan narrowed his eyes in rage upon seeing this. He launched three more spikes at Taryn, who quickly pulled herself towards the ground to evade them. Excellent Aoki thought to himself. Taryn was utilizing stalling tactics as he had hoped, trying to use Garlan's sheer power against him.

Aoki's relief was short–lived when Garlan suddenly dashed forward at blinding speeds. As Taryn landed on the ground, he caught her neck in a chokehold. As the claws from his free hand edged closer to her, Taryn suddenly dived into the ground, having fused with the shadows at Garlan's feet. Garlan stomped his foot on the ground and sent Taryn careening out of the shadows and into the air. She was barely able to halt her tumble through another pull on the ground.

She then maintained her position in the air as she pushed against the ground. She watched as Garlan prepared his next attack. He then launched a tsunami of shadowy spikes at her again. Drawing upon the power of the stone, Taryn deflected the spikes away from herself. However, the spikes suddenly changed direction in midair and rushed back towards her.

She pulled against the ground to avoid the diving spikes. As she landed on the ground, she leapt to her left. However, Garlan suddenly summoned spikes of shadow from just under Taryn's feet. Taryn grimaced in pain as the spikes tore into her lower legs. She cut the shadows that held her in place and leapt into the air, bandaging her legs with shadows as she sailed into the sky. She glanced back towards the ground.

Despite the furious battling having dragged on for minutes now, Garlan was not the least bit short of breath. Worry filled Taryn as she was greeted with this sight. She had been hoping to force Garlan to drain himself of his own energy, using the power of his attacks against him. However, his attacks were just as powerful and furious as they had been since the battle began. With no end to his stamina, Taryn decided to change her tactics and end the battle as quickly as she could.

This time, she was the one who initiated the attack. She summoned three golems from the shadows around her and sent them towards Garlan. She made them weave through the air to make it even more difficult for Garlan to strike them down. Garlan did not move. He watched the approaching golems through his narrowed crimson eyes. Then, when they were barely a tree's length away from him, he attempted to impale them with spikes of shadow erupting from the ground below. Taryn watched as the spikes sailed forward. Then, when they neared her golems, she caught the spikes in midair and sent them at Garlan as well. Garlan exerted his will on the approaching shadows and willed them to stop. Taryn did the same. She drew upon the power of her mother's stone to do so, ignoring the intense pain that gripped her chest as she did.

Now, it was a battle of strength and willpower. The stone's immense energy will allow her to overpower Garlan. His powers may be unfathomably great but he cannot be a match for a stone he himself admitted to be an ocean of BioUmbra. Garlan too realized this as he leapt away from the shadows in the air.

Freed from his oppressive willpower, Taryn sent more spikes from the ground to chase after him. Wherever he flew, she withdrew more and more spikes from the ground until she had a swarm of shadowy constructs stretching 500 metres across the sky. Garlan watched as the shadows dived towards him from all angles. Some dived at him from the sky, others parallel to the ground whilst others still charged at him from all angles in between. At the last moment, he dove towards the ground and fused with the shadows there.

The shadows struck the ground, dispersing as they did. Taryn seized upon Garlan's shadow and forced him out of it. As he was sent careening into the air, Taryn sent the spikes she held in the air as reserves charging down at him from above. He was unable to evade this. The spikes struck him and tore his body apart. Ignoring his pain, he pulled on Taryn through the power of gravitation. Both were sent charging at each other. He slashed at Taryn with his claws. Surprised by the sheer speed of his attack, Taryn barely managed to raised an arm to stop his attack. His claws tore into her arm. Taryn winced in pain.

Seizing his opportunity, Garlan slashed at Taryn's neck. Taryn blocked it with her free arm. The two once more fell towards the ground. They slashed at each other, blocked each other's attacks, and lashed out at each other in a blur of limbs as the ground hurtled towards them. The two broke apart just as the ground was a mere metre away from them.

As they landed on the field across from each other, Taryn collapsed onto one knee and took note of her injuries. Her torso and arms were covered with eight lacerations and her legs were still wounded from earlier in the battle. She took note of her wounds in dread. For a second, she was tempted to use all of the energy stored in her mother's stone to overwhelm Garlan. However, she quickly decided against such a plan. If she performed such an action, she may not have enough energy left to seal the gateways.

As Garlan took a step forward, Taryn's mind was racing to create a means of defeating him. Seconds seemed to stretch into minutes as her mind raced. Then, a plan came into Taryn's mind. She doubted it would work against a foe such as Garlan but she couldn't think of a better alternative. She pretended to stand, but then collapsed again as she breathed heavily. She tried to make herself look as small and vulnerable as possible without arousing suspicion from her foe.

Garlan approached her even faster, seemingly confident of his victory. Taryn suppressed any excitement growing within her. Then, she carefully shrouded the BioUmbra around her using inauguration whilst launching a few seemingly desperate, poorly guided attacks at Garlan. Garlan easily evaded the attacks and quickened his pace, seemingly even more confident of his victory than before. The attacks were merely a distraction as she carefully moulded shadows behind herself, out of sight from Garlan. As he approached, Taryn suppressed the urge to become tense. She had to continue pretending to be weak and helpless as her foe approached.

Then, when was only 3 metres away, Garlan suddenly rushed at Taryn. His claws swung forward as they airmed at her heart, determined to end her life. Aoki and Remy watched in horror as the scene before them unfolded. The duo prepared to launch an attack at Garlan despite knowing that they would be unable to strike him down before he reached Taryn. However, they were stopped by what happened next.

Taryn suddenly sheathed herself with her shadows, which rushed out from behind her with speed that even Garlan was unable to react to. The shadows were a blur as they formed a shield in front of Taryn, catching Garlan's hand as he tried to attack her. Startled, Garlan tried to pull his hand back but was stuck. He tried to fuse with Taryn's shadow but Taryn repulsed him with the power of the stone. Then, having had him immobilized, she slashed him with an enormous blade of shadow. The blade split Garlan into two halves, both of which collapsed onto the ground. His crimson eyes quickly grey dim as life was extinguished within him. As the two halves of her foe fell upon the ground, Taryn stood up once more. The battle was finally over.